Silo Bakery

Jamon, manchego and tomato bread. Photo: Jeffrey Chan

Bryan Martin

Canberra Times Top 20 for 2012

Silo Bakery absolutely nails the basics in good food: simplicity, seasonality and flavour. Clearly, the amazing breads and pastries that emerge from this cluttered kitchen at the hands of baker and co-owner Leanne Gray are the foundation of Silo’s perennial success. But it’s augmented by a well-managed cheese room, a small but eclectic and dynamic wine list, with all the wines available by the glass, and an ever-changing, highly seasonal breakfast and lunch menu.

The menu changes monthly, but on our last visit in the depths of winter our spirits were lifted by simple offerings like a soup of chestnuts and chorizo. In this delicious puddle of wintery flavours you can sum up everything that is good about Silo. Great value for money ($12), a big hunk of walnut bread on the side, the richly flavoured soup making you feel warmed from your sturdy walking boots to the top of your beret, with just a touch of prickly spice from the sausage to give added heat, and washed down with a glass of Spanish verdeja. Sicilian swordfish dressed simply in lemon and olive oil speaks loudly of the character and simplicity you expect here.

Desserts are an easy option. You can just head to the servers and choose from the pastries and tarts – a prune and custard tart, with a dollop of clotted cream, or a cheese plate from Graeme Hudson’s joyously crowded cheese room. It’s all here. No better spot for a bespoke long lunch in the capital.